Interstitial Cystitis (IC) Support Group

Interstitial Cystitis (IC) is a urinary bladder disease of unknown cause characterised by pelvic and intense bladder pain, urinary frequency (as often as every 10 minutes), and pain with urination. It is not unusual for patients to experience nocturia and pain with sexual intercourse. IC is also known as painful bladder syndrome (PBS), particularly outside of the USA.

I have had IC for 26 years, Taking tums, prelief and baking soda did give me relief however the over usage of these gave me kidney stones that literally brought me two my knees, I could not pass them and had to have them removed surgically. I have had two babies and I must say the kidney stones were worse.

I never implied that they don't work and still use them on occasion I simply recommend that persons with IC don't over use them because if you think IC pain is painful....try getting a kidney stone.

I wish person would be more open minded and rather than take offense, think about the long term affects of over-the-counter medications and prescription medications.

Astridw if you would like to join the IC anonymous group and learn how to cope and mange your IC and get rid of antacids join by writing to gp1965@ymail.com
We are a group of woman of all different ages who share and support one another.

A low-oxalate diet is often recommended for people with IC and is incidentally what is recommended to avoid kidney stones or to people who have had them in the past. I'm not sure how prelief could lead to kidney stones but if you are indeed worried about getting them, check out the &quot;low-oxalate diet&quot; -- it is hard to find correct info on oxalate levels in foods online, however, but the low oxalate cookbook has up-to-date tested levels and groups foods into low, medium, and high oxalate. Anyway, I never want to get kidney stones.. so I'm curious.. how does prelief cause them?

Prelief is a safer antacid to use but like all antacid pills they contain calcium. If your taking tums and prelief on a regular basis your getting lots of calcium which could result in painful kidney stones.

We wished to determine whether different types of dietary protein might have different effects on calcium metabolism and on the propensity for renal stone formation. Fifteen young normal subjects were studied during three 12-day dietary periods during which their diet contained vegetable protein, vegetable and egg protein, or animal protein. While these three diets were constant with respect to Na, K, Ca, P, Mg, and quantity of protein, they had progressively higher sulfur contents. As the fixed acid content of the diets increased, urinary calcium excretion increased from 103 15 (SEM) mg/day (2.6 0.4 mmol/day) on the vegetarian diet to 150 13 mg/day (3.7 0.3 mmol/day) on the animal protein diet (P &lt; 0.02). Despite the increased urinary calcium excretion, there was a modest reduction of urinary cAMP excretion and serum PTH and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D levels consistent with acid-induced bone dissolution. There was no change in fractional intestinal 47Ca absorption. The inability to compensate for the animal proteininduced calciuric response may be a risk factor for the development of osteoporosis.

The animal protein-rich diet was associated with the highest excretion of undissociated uric acid due to the reduction in urinary pH. Moreover, citrate excretion was reduced because of the acid load. However, oxalate excretion was lower than during the vegetarian diet [26 1 mg/day (290 10 mol/day) vs. 39 2 mg/day (430 20 mol/day); P &lt; 0.02]. Urinary crystallization studies revealed that the animal protein diet, when its electrolyte composition and quantity of protein were kept the same as for the vegetarian diet, conferred an increased risk for uric acid stones, but, because of opposing factors, not for calcium oxalate or calcium phosphate stones.

* This work was supported by NIH Grants RO1-AM26253, POl-AM20543, MO1-RR-00633, and NASA Grant NAG-9-152

Hmm I thought calcium was good for the body. And a lot of young women don't get enough of it.
I have actually stopped taking prelief or baking soda because I take Prilosec every day for acid reflux and Librax for IBS but it keeps me IC pain free too. I don't know if that kind of antacid has calcium I will have to check. But what I am curious about is if taking those antacids gives you too much calcium what about all of the people who take a calcium supplements. Do those give you kidney stones too?

It is unfair to all the members of this discussion to unilaterally dismiss the use of; Tums, Baking Soda, Prelief and other antacid remedies. When used as directed, these over the counter products are safe and may prove to be very helpful. Of course, any product has the potential to be abused. When taken in excess they can become hazardous to your health.

It is important to use good judgment whenever using medications. Even water has the potential to be a health hazard when consumed in large quantities. The key note in this discussion is to use common sense.

Persons with IC first and foremost I do not post things that I have either lived myself or seen while working in Mass General. I worked in the Cardiac unit and often patients would report they thought they had heart burn for months and would be taking antacids who not only had a heart attack during this time but form kidney stones and 9 out of 10 times it was the kidney stones that brought them into the ER not the heart attack they had a week ago. Yes, person can suffer a heart attack and not even know it. Also the formation of kidney stones usually happens with adults who are taking antacids daily.
Also I know of other woman who had kidney stones after taking Tums daily who have IC.
The study below that is listed has nothing to do with Antacids.

Once again I never said not to use them I simply said don't over do it, because I care about all of you, I know what pain your going through and would hate to see you add to it.

Please do not scold me as if I was a child. I dont mean to upset you however this is an open discussion among adults on antacids and their ability to eliminate symptoms of an I.C. flare.

We are not discussing cardiac problems. Yes, I am aware a heart attack can mirror the symptoms of heartburn. It is true heart patients have mistakenly taken antacids in the false attempt to correct their symptoms of a heart attack.

However, the focus of the discussion remains on whether or not antacids aid the symptoms of IC. Yes, personally speaking I have relief from taking baking soda, Tums, and other antacids. You have admitted to finding occasional relief from these products. Yes, I will continue to recommend antacids to anyone attempting to control a flare.

I reiterate, these products are neither the problem nor the solution. To date, there is no cure for I.C. we can only listen to our bodies and do what we feel is in our best interest to elevate the pain.

Ok this is what I read. Not trying to start anything. But I think it is important!
Your bones need calcium but your heart needs more calcium. And if your not getting enough in your diet or supplements. Then your heart will take calcium from your bones and make them brittle leading to osteoporosis.

Also antacid aren't bad for you just because they can cause a the formation of kidney stones but my love they can also stop your body from absorbing the medication that your taking that is working for you.

Tori in case your wondering I have a masters degree in whole health education, I run a wellness group and work in with Dr. Wen who is a scientist who does research on auto immune disease and cancer we talk about these these subjects in great length.

Tori you and everyone else have the right to believe what you want, take what you want and do what you choose when it comes to your own healthcare. You see the problem is I receive grief from people when I hit a nerve, people don't want to have to think about the fact that there quick fix may end up causing them more harm.

I am here because I truly care, my heart goes out to you and everyone who suffers with this disease.

Tori I have work with woman who are in prison with this disease, I have cried with them, I have helped them get their children back, I have fought with some of them, some of them are still my friends today, their kids call me Aunty.

I simply give back what has been given to me............I didn't ask anyone to agree or to take it.....you don't want or believe it or care.........click on by, delete it.....trust me there are plenty of people who want help, who need help, who are crying on the outside and dieing on the inside everyday.

A friend sent this to me..As far as I can see, grief will never truly end.It may become softer overtime, more gentleand some days will feel sharp.But grief will last as long as Love does - ForeverIt's simply the way the absence of your loved onemanifests in your heart. A deep longing accompaniedby the deepest Love some days. The heavy fog mayreturn and the next day, it may recede.Once again, it's...

Today is my 25th birthday, to my somewhat lack of surprise I can see already no one really seems to care. I've always been the kinda person to make sure that everyone I Care about feels appreciated and knew somebody had their back. I can count 4 times this year when I Went out of my way to make sure a "friend" felt good on their birthday, especially if they got left hanging. Its early in the...

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